ME

Today I want to tell you more about the new blog that I'm building. Art is a Way is more than a blog. It's a robust web-site and blog at the same time. I am so excited about this project. Art is a Way won't be one more blog on my list, it will eventually be the only one. Although I am thinking about leaving my blog about papercutting as a separate place. The content of all my current blogs will migrate to that new place. And then, there will be the new content that I'm creating with you in mind. Moving into that new home will be an organic part my personal growth. Planning this transition takes a lot of work but I'm enjoying every bit of it. I love progress and I love building new things. I see the new place as a custom made house with all the features of my dreams. From there this blogging experience will be even more enjoyable and rich.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement,achievement, and success have no meaning.

From Art is a Way I will be: Inspiring you to get in touch with your full creative potential. I could say a lot more about my new project but let's leave something for the future. All I want to say now is that it will be great.

Below I'm sharing something that I wrote for Art is a Way. I needed to write that in order to communicate my essence and why I feel so inspired to share my passions with you. I'm planning to launch Art is a Way on January 1st of 2013. I'm so looking forward to that day!

When I was born, the stars, planets, gemstones, and all those things were aligned in perfect harmony for me to fail. I was one of eight children that came into this world for no special reason. Neglected from the start, I was a victim of those bad things you hear about in the news.

All I had to do was follow my “destiny” and I would have become the fragile/invisible person that I was born to be. All I had to do was be one more lost sheep in my barrio, do what everyone else was doing and react to the terrible things that happened to me in the same way everyone else did. The mystery is that I did just the opposite.

Was I was slightly smarter than my peers? Probably not. Many of my screwed up neighbors and friends were smart, even though some ended up in jail, or even dead. Was it a stubborn gene in me? I can’t say because I’m not a scientist. Was it that I was touched by some special light? Not at all. Those stories about “special lights” are made to trick us into believing that good things happen only if something outside of us does the magic.

Then what happened? How did I get out of that black hole where I was born and raised? How in this world did I steer the wheel in the totally opposite direction? How did I end up being a better version of what I was supposed to be? The answer is only one: Imagination, lots of imagination and creativity.

I was able to imagine a better destiny. I made it happen, day after day, inside my head. I wrote that imagined world down in diaries, I drew it, I painted it, I modeled it in clay and plasticine, I sang it out loud in the bathroom, I day dreamed about it. That imaginary reality became my project, my experiment, my secret love, the only one thing that I could count on because it was all up to me. Everything else failed me but not my imagination.

I became so connected to my fantastic world, so familiar with it, so in love with it that I lost my way back into that other ugly world where I was born. I totally forgot how to get back there. And when I became an adult (and before I was even aware of it) I had moved full-time into that better world, a world that became real before my eyes. One choice at a time, one day at a time, one idea at a time I found my way into a better reality. One morning I opened my eyes and said: I MADE IT! I still say that inside my head once in a while when I wake up.

So I’m here because I have a little grain of sand to offer, it’s my way of being grateful with life. I built Art is a Way to share my passion for creativity. Through this place I want to help you get in touch with your full creative potential. I want to help you understand that imagination, creativity and art can save your life. If you don’t need to be saved, then Imagination, creativity and art can make your life dramatically better.

In the beginning of this year I read a book that taught me a lot. One of the things that this book recommended was to write a personal mission statement. It had to be something short that expressed the very essence of what you want to do in your life. I agree with Mr. Stephen R. Covey , writing your personal mission statement is a great way to remind yourself where you want to go. Here I'm sharing what I wrote with you. I keep it in a visible place so I can read it often and make sure that I stick to it.

It was supposed to be the most special day of my life but a series of events is making it a little hard day. I'm so sorry for having to say this, but this blog has always been my platform for being honest with you in the good and bad times as well. Life is not always the way you expect it to be. My Mom had a bad fall and broke her arm and foot, she's into a lot of pain getting ready for the next step that could include surgery. We have a big problem in the kitchen, right now there is a man fixing it and making lots of noise and charging lots of money. There are other things going on as well, but they're smaller.

Fortunately, I have my mind that never leaves me alone in a bad day. My mind is reminding me that with a little bit of imagination we could turn things around. Maybe I could move my real birthday celebration to another day or month this year. I have a whole year for being 40. But regardless of everything that's going on today I still feel very lucky to be alive. Lots of love!

I was so excited to find John Medina's book the other day. BRAIN RULES: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. I'm still reading it and enjoying it a lot. I'm learning lots of things about how the brain operates.

Each brain is wired differently. Just like the electrical system in houses. That's why each person reacts differently to the same stimuli.

The best thing about the brain is that we can "shape it" meaning that we can do certain things to make it work better for us, to "domesticate" it. I have intuitively practiced that sort of "brain training" for years with some success, but it's not something that you ever get to master. My brain tricks me all the time. How many times have I planned to do something and then I do totally the opposite?. But I never give up! In the end I always try to be understanding with myself because contradicting ourselves is 100% human. My brain loves to hear that, as you can imagine :o But I never let him think that because he is human it is OK to stop trying to do better. My ultimate goal is for my brain and I to get along no matter what. I really don't like it when we get upset with each other :)

I notice that everything in nature is made out of this kind of construction:

A combination of elements in different sizes that go from large to microscopic. b

The mind, in my opinion, is also "made" out of this kind of pattern.

There are the main ideas, thoughts, memories and then there are the other ones that are harder to notice, unless you put them under the "microscope".

I think that we can study the mind in the same way that we study a leaf.

I put myself under the "microscope" the other day to see why I have been afraid of driving on the highway for so long. I found a very thin, almost invisible vein that took me back to Cuba and to my ex. He used to repeat over and over that I was never going to be able to drive at all, because I was always in the clouds. He also said that if I even tried to do it I was going to have a serious accident, SPECIALLY IF I DROVE ON THE HIGHWAY...and bla, bla, bla...

I used to think that he was so wrong. And he was, because I actually learned how to drive and I now consider myself a pretty focused and responsible driver. But when it came to driving on the freeway something subtle happened: that thin little vein generated by my ex, that included the words serious accident, somehow got stock in the wrong place. So I came to believe that somehow, for some deep reason that I could not explain, I was going to have a serious accident if I drove on the freeway.

I am so grateful now that my fear has vanished. By driving on the freeway for the first time I learned that I could do anything if I believe that I can do it. I also learned that people can really hurt your trust in yourself with words. So let's be careful when that happens.

By studying your own mind you could find thin veins of fear that were introduced in you by other people (parents, friends, relatives, even unknown people). The most important thing is to find them and understand that they're not really part of who you are, they're just foreign elements that need to get out of your system.

One of the things that I enjoy the most is writing and drawing on a blank book. The kind of writing and drawing that I keep for myself. It's a personal experience because what I write and draw is not something that anybody else could make sense of, only I know what it means and it has to do with my emotional world.

I started doing this when I was about 8 years old and I cannot imagine my life without it. It's silly but very important to me.

Yesterday was one of those days that seemed to be part of a movie to me, like a suspense movie. The most crazy thing happened: I lost my wallet with some money but most importantly with my credit cards, drivers license, museums membership cards, supermarket cards, zoo membership card, and all sort of other cards.

I left the wallet in the supermarket cart. I realized about my mistake about 15 minutes after I had left the supermarket and then I drove back immediately!!!! I found the cart in the same place where I left it, I found the little list of groceries but I didn't find my wallet. I asked the manager but they didn't have any lost object in storage.

So I called my bank to cancel the credit cards and then I drove directly to my local DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to issue a new drivers license. Over there was really interesting, DMV's are great places for finding amazing characters, perfect to inspire many of my little dollies. One of the characters over there (his name could be something like Arrostino) gave me a form to fill out. I didn't have my social security #, I can't retain numbers like that in my brain so I had to call Bill's assistant and as always she was so fast! She found the # and gave it to me. Thank you forever Laurie!!!

Then the lady with the bright orange hair asked if I wanted to use the old photograph or if I wanted to take a new one, she asked this looking at my old photograph on the computer, which is probably the ugliest portrait of myself that I have ever seen in my whole life. I said: well, if it takes too long then let's keep going with the old one, who cares? (I do, I could hear her say in her brain) Ok, she said... sign here and it is $23 dollars. But I didn't have any money with me!!!! I had to ask her to keep the papers so I could go back home and find some money. I went back home and I did not find any cash so I asked my neighbor Sally for help. Thank you Sally!!!! I will pay you back after I write this story!

I drove back to the DMV and I saw the lady with the orange hair again (Anatamarinda is the name I gave her), she said: are you sure you don't want to take a new photo? There is no line over there now....OK, I said, because I knew that I was going to make her happy. She smiled so I went to the little place with the blue background and a new photo was taken. I am sure that it will be as ugly as the previous one. There is something about Departments of Motor Vehicles and portraits that doesn't quiet work. I am sure that you know what I mean.

So, after this, Anatamarinda told me that I was going to get my new driver's license on the mail in about 3 weeks! :o But in the mind time I could use the little paper that she gave me. Perfect! Now I am a legal driver again. So I drove back home, I sat for a minute in order to process the whole thing when I heard something: riiiiiiing!!! The phone (IT WAS MY BANK)

phone:Hello, yes, is this Elsa Mora?

me: Yes, that's me

phone: We just wanted to let you know that your wallet is here and that you can pick it up before 5:00 PM

me: What!!!???? My wallet? But I didn't go there today!

phone: Well, it looks like someone was trying to use your ATM card over here...

me: OMG!

So I run to the bank and there was Mister-Perfectly-dressed with my wallet. I was sooo happy. I could not believe that my old wallet was back in my hands with the one million membership cards! The only thing missing was the cash, because Mystery person decided to keep it as a souvenir.

So I went back home and sat again in order to process the whole thing all over again. In the end I came to the conclusion that life is that way, unexpected things happen all the time and you just do what you have to do. And it is also better to do what you have to do it with a positive mind. In the end it was kind of exciting, I enjoyed my time at the DMV, I loved how happy Mister-Perfectly- dressed was to deliver the wallet to its owner, I loved how my neighbor Sally was so happy to lend me her money... I was just happy to see that I wasn't alone, whatever happens to you there are always people out there to give you a hand.

The other thing that I learned is that my wallet is so heavy! Carrying a light bag for a few hours felt wonderful! I think that I will get rid of all the things that I don't need to carry with me Yay!!!

Lots of love!

And take good care of your wallet please!!

Elsita :)

(And I am soooo happy that the little patters were well received yesterday!!! Thank you!!!! I have to end this post saying that yesterday was a good day, Yay!!)

Today I am excited to tell you that I had the honor to be interviewed by DISCO UNDERWORLD, an inspiring digital magazine filled with profiles of diverse people from all over the world. Answering all the questions was a real pleasure. HERE is the direct link to my interview. In order to read it, just click on the arrows to pass the pages, it is very easy. And right at the end of the interview (in a pink box with this color) you have the option to vote for your friend Elsita. Thank you so much!

You should also check out the previous issues, there is a lot of inspiration in its pages :)

But I also wanted to let you know that my friend Kirsten is having a WONDERFUL GIVEAWAY THIS WEEK! Yay!!!! You're going to love the prizes! Hurry up to leave your comments!! Yay!!!!

We wake up everyday with so much in our heads and such a long list of things to do. Then we go to bed at night feeling that we still need to do a lot more next day. And that's a cycle that never ends. It is like that everyday, every week, every year... Do you realize that this race has an end? It is a fact that one day we are going to stop the race because it is life's nature. So in the end what is life? Should we call it a race? Or: